Music and musings from magicbrook.com

It’s been a very long haul. What started as a small brain child to release some nicely recorded guitar improvisations has taken me on a long, 3 year journey. It was early 2005 that I posted one of the first pieces, titled “Andulasian Mist”, please excuse the misspelling of Andalusia. Smile.

On this particular journey, I’ve tried to seek the best possible ways to record the acoustic guitar so that the recording (and hopefully the listener?) can hear the details of the wood, the strings, the hands, as though one were sitting in front of the guitar experiencing the music unfold.

Recording alone proved a very tall order. A recording is never a perfect representation, I’ve found. Rather, one paints with the sound qualities that different microphones, different placements, different pre-amplifiers, different analog to digitial (A/D) converters, etc., may deliver. I’ve learned a lot. When these come together into a whole, I find that I can have an aural experience that is rich. It’s not the same as listening to the guitar in a good room. It will never be! Rather, it is its own representation.

Many thanks to Winter (of the Sharon Knight Band) and El Mundo Bueno Studios engineer extraordinaire and to Dave Feder, who both helped with key pieces of the puzzle.

And, paraphrase John Lennon, “life was happening while I was doing other things”. While searching for an acceptable, even beautiful way to get the guitar recorded, I spent a great deal of time thinking about the pieces that might be a part of this collection.

While I was improvising on grooves and licks, compositions started to emerge. A creative space opened up. this opening has been such that, at this point, there’s very little pure improvisation in this collection. While there are open sections in some of the pieces, the material has been thought out, much material discarded in favor of that which develops the thematic material in some, hopefully, interesting and compelling manner? The arc of the development hopefully moves towards a particular musical place?

I used many different forms for these pieces, from almost through composed “The Awakening”, to theme and variations “Andalusian Fantasy”, to even classical sonata form (well, almost) - “Stony Creek” and “The Sun and the Clouds at Play” come closest in form, I think? You will even find a very simple song form, AABA, with “Sweet Sigh”.

I will post and podcast some of the early, for-radio-release, versions of these over the next couple of months while we finish the album.

To start, you can find “Fetch! (the)” on my home page. These pieces may also be heard at my MySpace page, Broadjam.com, iSound.com, and at Fingerstyle-Guitar.com

take care,

/brook

One never knows which song will have legs - “12 Long Years” continues in the top 10 in the Chicago Blues category on Broadjam.com.

Golly, maybe I should head on for another turn on the blues circuit?

I wanted to recreate a bit of the magic of late 1950’s, early ’60’s blues. Not the heavily electified sound that came at the end of the 60’s, but that slight harmonic distortion of the lead guitar, but still hearing the sound of the pickup - where there was a bit of T-Bone’s jazzier playing, while still being true to the blues. Little amps, cranked not so loud that it hurts, but so that you feel the music.

Not sure I got there? But that was the sound I was reaching for.

I did have some wonderful help on harmonica, Keith Brown - I think his playing adds a a lot to the tune. And, my old comrade in musical adventures, Joyce Baker, gets that perfectly laid back snap on the snare for the authentic Chicago blues pulse.

A regular comment about the tune is about the great “band”.

Uh - I hate to tell on myself - but this is the day of easily overdubbed recording.

I played bass and piano as well as lead vocal and guitar.

I was going find someone for the piano part - thought I’d lay down a scratch version to be overdubbed later by a pro. But, my backing didn’t come out too badly; there was a nice support for the guitar solo - so I left it in to I could call on my helpers, the real piano players, for other keyboard duties. Yep - that’s ‘lil ol’ me on piano. Now you all know just how poorly I really do play piano. I’ve been tellin’ folks, “I play a lot of instruments badly”. smile

So, if there is fault with the band, the fault lies with me.

peace to all, and thanks to all the wonderful and thoughtful reviewers who’ve kept “12 Long Years” alive.

/brook

I found a guitar player asking, “practice, what is it? how do I do it?” on the 13th fret site. This is such a tricky question. Often, we respond with, something like “take 2 exercises. Call me in the morning” Smile.

But practice is not exercises or studies. It’s a way of approaching things that we want to learn. A lot of the guitar is somatic, that is, learned and understood by the body. It must come without much conscious thought.

I can’t think, while playing, “I want a 8th note syncopated rhythm followed by flamenco rasgueado triplets. Oh and while we’re at it, could that please fit over a basic 4 meter, in 2 measures, please, body?”

The measures are already long past. No, the way this works is I feel in the stream of sound in my mind that accompanies the sound coming from my hands: these rhythms over these notes (chords, whatever), these well practiced hand patterns. And, if my practice and accomplishement is sufficient (big statement, that!), it all comes out as though it’s a part of me and a part of the music emerging in this unfolding moment. Wow!

I had a major breakthrough when I worked through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: I moved away from frustration based learning, will based learning to giving myself the space to discover technique in my own way. The next big break that I had was at a workshop with Kenny Werner, Toots Thielemans’ pianist. It is this bit that I wrote to the person who wanted to know how to practice, pasted below:

I do want to share something I learned about 6 years ago from jazz piano player and improvisation master, Kenny Werner.

The important bit is: most of our teaching is off in terms of approach. Standard is: “take 2 exercises and call me in the morning - or next week at your lesson” hehe, wink wink.

Mostly, we overwhelm our ability to learn by taking on more than our body can assimilate easily. We can only really learn one thing at a time!

So, in response to that teaching, I changed my approach completely. And I don’t play at all like what I did 6 years ago! The amount of things that I can learn has shifted dramatically. And, I’ve seen it in my students as well.

Work concentrated on one thing. Just one thing. If it takes 6 months - it takes 6 months. If it takes 20 minutes, it takes 20 minutes.

Now that doesn’t mean just playing one thing over and over for a year. One can work on maintaining and sharpening techniques in multiplicity that one already has learned.

And, some time regularly should be spent on getting in to and maintaining “the zone” - that place where playing is natural and open, that flows easily (whether your an improviser or only play set pieces, I believe one still needs to understand and get into “the zone”) That is a different practice, more akin to meditation (which, BTW, helps get to the zone)

But, the trick that I learned at that workshop was to focus completely, stopping when I feel frustrated.

Another piece that I stumbled upon is avoiding frustration through trying a different way if after concerted effort things are not coming along. No head banging, no overwhelm. Because we cannot learn when we are overwhelmed.

If I could help other players in any way, it would be to suggest that they (and myself) really narrow the scope of practice - hard focused practice, to one thing at a time. It seems like it will slow one down. But amazingly, it has not for me.

Long way round to simple answer.

I will add one other thing: spend some time and effort on what’s hard for you, rather than always focusing upon what you already know in an effort to make it better.

I find that people (my students, myself) make a lot more progress by at least trying to do things that they are weak on, rather than endlessly refining that which is already well within accomplished technique. One doesn’t have to get really good at a new thing to get the benefits. There’s some mystery happening when we work on our limitations that opens the playing a lot.

the change that will come not only affects what we are attempting to learn, but also affects what we know. It is a lateral support to what we have already incorporated.

Consider these as you build your practice.

In a future post, I’ll try to discuss some of the ideas from George Leonard’s book, Mastery.

peace

/brook

Friends,

Some exciting musical news to share. As many of you know, I’ve been hard at work on a series of solo acoustic guitar pieces. It’s been a long, hard road - I started this journey 2 years ago in December. I thought that I’d kick out a series of improvisations somewhat like those of my friend, Rich Hubbard’s “Midnight Daydreams” Ha!

Then I started composing. Dangerous activity, that.

Many times, I thought that I was getting reasonable recording, only to discover that it was not rich enough, or some other technical issue had cropped up. Just getting my breathing from becoming a main part of the recordings was a whole journey into the land of gobos (thanks, Dave Feder)

Or, I’d believe that a particular composition was completed, only to discover that it really wasn’t. Many of the compositions have been through a lot of changes to refine them, to get a thematic and dramatic arc, richness of texture, contrast and development.

Now, I think that the work is ready for comment.

There’s a test mix up on MySpace. If you’d like to hear what I’ve been up to lately, please go to my page and listen to “Fetch! (the)”

There’s also a very early mix hopefully for eventual radio release of “Andalusian
Fantasy” there.

I’ll be podcasting some of the radio mixes soon. In the meantime, If you
have myspace account, please send my music page a friend request.

I appreciate any help (comments on the music, friend requests, etc.) from those of you who are myspace users. If you listen, comment, rate, link, then others will be encouraged to, as well.

I also have some of the new music up on www.broadjam.com. Broadjam has been good for some of my blues, which have several weeks last year been in the top 10. If you have an account there, please do review my new material.

As always, you can find my music in regular rotation on the isound.com radio stations and selected stations in the US and Europe.

Hope that your new year is well?

/brook

I find Broadjam.com a great place to collect some opinions about my work. Still - it can be trying to winnow useful information from the process. Many of the reviewers do seem to want to shred - I guess perhaps it’s an opportunity to let it “all fly”, since reviews are given anonymously? Or, perhaps it’s strategy to get one’s own material on to the top 10?

I don’t know.

I’ve had some seriously shredding comments up there that did not fall into the category, “feedback to make the work better”.

Even so, as I’ve posted previou, my slow blues, “12 Long Years”, has made it more than once into the top 10 in the Blues category, for which I’m very grateful. Considering some of the things that have been said about what my fans tell me are their favorite numbers, I guess that’s quite an achievement and very unexpected. Thank you reviewers for your hard work.

Today, I logged in to upload a couple of tests from my upcoming solo guitar album (watch this space and my podcasts for more information and perhaps some samples as time goes along). I’d like to see what folks have to say about the work.

In the meantime, I looked at a couple of reviews of “12 Long Years” that I hadn’t seen yet. Posted was this wonderful comment that I hope the poster, “Bruce”, doesn’t mind my reposting here? Thank you, Bruce, whomever and where ever you are for not only this compliment, but for your other thoughtful critique, which I take very much to heart.

“You … write this gorgeous blues masterpiece! I think your construction is completely classic for the standard and you’ve done a beautiful job. Your voice, especially, is tender / convincing and the whole sound is more intimate than many other blues artists. Just a very, very good work - thank you!”

Well, thank you, Bruce. Please, do help broadjam stay out of the shredding morass with useful critique as you’ve given me.

cheers

/brook

Yesterday, I found myself listening to a “motivational” speaker at the University of Oregon. I know, my life is strange. I like to call it “kaleidoscopic”. It sometimes seems like a bit of everything mixed together and refracted so that there appear to have fundamental patterns, when in fact, it’s all just a collection of light catching junk, thrown together and rattled around.

The speaker cited recent brain research in her talk. She noted that we have far more emotional functioning than previous models had allowed. I read this in Richard Cytowic’s The Man Who Tasted Shapes (found here on my book list).

This book is a terrific romp through modern brain research. His essential message to me, is, “humans are basically emotional beings. Rational thought is an impossibility.” A not unfamiliar paradign shift in the circles where I run. But radical, to be sure, in left brain, rational thought glorifying Western culture.

When the speaker started citing this research, I immediately perked up. “Where’s she going with this?” Then she said something like (and please forgive me, speaker, if I misunderstood - sorry I don’t remember your name), “So how does the smaller part of our brain, the rational brain, ‘master’ these large emotions? How can we come to rational thought despite all of our massive emotions?”

It seems a reasonable question on the face of it. But I cringed. My little joke: “mind/heart split is so last millenium”

And, indeed it is, to me.

Knowing that our emotional brain enlarged greatly as we become human, that it dwarfs the neo-cortex, the rational mind, doesn’t lead me to thinking about how much more work I have to get past all this raw emotional power.

Paradigm shift coming.

According to Cytowic, the emotional brain is our greatest resource - it’s faster (by orders of magnitude) than rational thought. It has tons of parallel processing power. It is the basis of our “knowing”, our “understanding”, and most importantly, without our emotionals, we cannot “decide” anything. Rationality, like Mr. Spock’s detachment, leaves all avenues are equally weighted. It is our emotions that allow us to make choices based upon our value structures, needs, and desires. This is emotional territory, not linear rational thought processes.

In fact, according to Cytowic, rational decision making is something of an oxymoron. It is quite literally, impossible. He writes, the emotional brain processes and makes a decision very quickly, and then the neo-cortex “does the paperwork” to tidy up the decision - with “reasons”.

It’s not at all about mastering emotions in an eternal battle between intellect and feeling. Rather, it may be more like emotional mastery. That is, understanding that not only can we not transcend our emtions - we must not! Without them, we don’t know what is important out of all the possibilities. Can we instead of fighting, integrate, understand, let flow, live, as Pete Walker says in The Tao of Fully Feeling, by being in the present through our emotional flow?

It is our heart that must be our guide, always. And, knowing my inner best course, I can use my rational faculties to make the plans that will take me where I need to go.

I think that we need all of our brain, all our faculties. I couldn’t deliver this blog entry without planning it - left brain. But the reason that I want to post it is entirely emotionally based. Because I have something I want to say to you all.

peace,

/brook

On May 1st (a fine day to be in Berlin where the holiday is thoroughly celebrated) my friend and I went to the corner gas station store to buy some cream. I later in the evening, I made scones. And my scones are definitely much better made with cream.

We had been riding bikes around Tiergarten park and we were getting hungry. So we parked the bikes in front of the local gas station store window - the only store open on this German national holiday (how come we don’t have May Day in the US?) She went in since I only have a few words in German. I could probably have made the purchase. But why? She knows the clerk well. So I stayed with the unlocked bikes. Seemed like the best thing at the time - no need to lock up if I just stand there on guard, right?

A minute after she went in, a fellow drives past me in a newish BMW, window down, music blasting (was it hip hop?), earing, t-shirt. He looks at me, I look at him, whatever, right? Wrong!

I wasn’t paying much attention. But, a few moments later, the same car is speeding toward me through the gas station, his car pointing directly at me. He must have been moving at at least 30mph. He’s looking straight at me.

At that point, I realized that I had no where to go. I was too far from the store’s door and stuck in front of the bikes. Time to say goodbye if he keeps coming on his current course.

But, just before he runs me over, the guy pulls to my left and stops with a loud screech in front of the store door. He rolls down his window and yells some word (presumably in German?) at me. He’s obviously very angry, repeating this same word several times, shouting at me from his seat in the car.

OK, huh. This guy, whom I’ve never laid eyes on just frightened me with a deadly instrument, his car, and now he’s yelling at me. What the heck? Is “jerk” the same word in German as English?

So, I say to him, “I have no idea what you’re saying, I don’t speak German.” He starts to get out of his car and says to me in english, “address me only in deutch (sic) when you speak to me.”

Naturally, at this point, I’m thinking, “what is with this nutter?” He’s a head taller than me. Not a good match if he comes at me. But amazingly, he strides past towards the door. At this point, my friend comes out, and I tell her that this guy just threatened me with his car. She slips up to him and says something to him - she told me that it was pretty insulting. He didn’t respond to her.

Well, the strangest things can happen when traveling.

My friend checks his license plate. It’s from an area from the former East Germany, Brandenburg area. Apparently, many young fellows from this area are rather disaffected. This area is a seat for rather aggressive and even facist, politics. These folks come to Berlin on May Day looking for a fight knowing that there may be demonstrations by leftist groups.

So, perhaps he thought that I was a leftist just finishing my demonstrations for the day? Kind of strange. I didn’t have any signs or anything - I was dressed much more like the tourist I actually am here. You know the outfit: nylon convertable pants, t-shirt, hi-tech fast drying shirt, and fleece jacket. Hardly black anarchist drag. I was just some dope standing in front of store guarding a couple of bikes. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How random, eh?

Still, facist thinking is alive and flourishing in parts of Europe. It’s under the surface, under the radar until someone gets threatened (or killed?) with a newish BMW from Brandenburg.

Apparently, anti-semetic graffiti and swasticas are a common sight in Poland (a friend just visited there, reporting back to me) Skinheads meet in the former East Germany. Conservatives are calling for more police powers in The Netherlands. I don’t personally know anyone who subscribes to these politics. But many of my friends in Europe assure me that there are those who do support these views.

And, this worries me. The United States is as close to dictatorship as ever in my lifetime, perhaps since its inception? Please read “Bruce Schneier” on the Bush Adminstration’s use of the Federal Register) Let me quote Mr. Schneier:

“The result is that the president’s wartime powers, with its armies, battles, victories, and congressional declarations, now extend to the rhetorical “War on Terror”: a war with no fronts, no boundaries, no opposing army, and — most ominously — no knowable “victory.” Investigations, arrests, and trials are not tools of war. But according to the Yoo memo, the president can define war however he chooses, and remain “at war” for as long as he chooses.

This is indefinite dictatorial power. And I don’t use that term lightly; the very definition of a dictatorship is a system that puts a ruler above the law. In the weeks after 9/11, while America and the world were grieving, Bush built a legal rationale for a dictatorship. Then he immediately started using it to avoid the law.”

That’s pretty scary to me. And, it continues, allowing the President to ignore congress whenever he chooses through the use of the Federal Register.

Perhaps with matters as they are in USA, facists from Brandenburg (if indeed that fellow was a facist?) feel emboldened to threaten silly tourists in Berlin? It’s something to think about.

peace from Berlin,

/brook

Wow, what a journey:

Weekend 1: Music and Ritual near Heidelberg
Week 2: Great conversations with friends, old and new in Amsterdam
Weekend 2: Pentacle of Pearl in Amsterdam
Week 3: Deep connections with friends in Berlin
Weekend 3: Adventures in Glastonbury
Week 4: Leeds College of Music

I’ll start at the beginning. I had an amazing plane ride, sitting next to a German film maker who lives and works from Marin “Sacred Films”. Thank you, Daniela, for such a deep journey sharing about each of our heart work. That was a terrific way to spend 13 hours.

The story is interesting. I had checked in online. But I’ve never done that before for an international flight. So, I was a bit mystified as to which United ticket counter I should get into. I tried 3 before I got into the correct one. Just moments before, a woman had gotten into that line. We exchanged pleasantries as we waited.

Then, while I was waiting for boarding - using the phone cubby for one last email exchange - the only open phone was next to me. Who should sit down? I joked that she was going to be sitting right next to me. Heh, heh.

Of course, her seat was exactly next to mine. Since that was just too funny, we struck up a conversation that didn’t really stop the whole flight except for nap time. Very fun.

Dear Rose-Marie from near Frankfurt came to pick me up, Daniela and I said our goodbyes and off I went.

Next, finish our planning for the ritual music workshop. It’s so great to work with Celia again. We tried many different forms of ritual music from the obvious to the experimental:

– drum for trance
– trance voice
– drum to raise energy
– circle singing
– sufi (like) dance (as a greeting and opening to the group)
– en-chantment
– entonement
– ecstatic singing
– my new form of devotional singing (similar to kirtan)
– movement and dance
– sound scape
– toning for healing
and we even attempted a sung trance (very experimental. I’m not sure that really worked all that well?)

There were some transcendent moments during the weekend that many participants resonated with. So, all good. Thank you, friends, for the adventure.

Next up was a week staying in Amsterdam. I had many conversations about the Reclaiming community and doings there. Some ideas that we brainstormed to reach across communities and traditions:

– An urban camp
– A ritual fundraiser one of the holy days
– more workshops (of course)
– regular public rituals

Thanks to Hok, Anita, Tom, and Saskia for their wonderful hospitality to me. And, Anita shared her deep knowledge of Arabic music with me. Much to learn, there.

The Pentacle of Pearl participants went sooooo deep, it was amazing work. I left Amsterdam on Sunday night so completely opened up and grateful from the dedication and energy that folks gave all weekend. We started deep on the Love point and just kept going.

Suus is a wonderful co-teacher. We are soooo resonant. Planning was a breeze; we can shift energies to meet the needs of the group. Also, many thanks to Saskia, who is a facilitator of non-violent communications workshops. She also helped significantly when things were really deep and dense.

We also took a side trip to the Vondel Park for check-out. that was very sweet. It was so great to see so many of my friends again.

Then, I was off to see friends in Berlin. What a beautiful city! Many deep and wonderful doings there.

From Berlin, I met my daughter in Glastonbury for a weekend adventure. We’ve been there together before. So, not only Glastonbury and ancient sacred site, perhaps the “Isle of Apples”, but it’s also special to us. We walked the Tor, felt its own peculiar energies, walked the Isle of Apples on which it stands and then went to “Pagan Disneyland” as my friend and co-teacher, Morgaine, calls it: there are more metaphysical and occult stores in those 3 blocks than anywhere else of which I know.

On Sunday, we wound up at an organic perfumery (create your own!“S’amuser”). Not only did each of us create our own personal sent (all natural, all good - no chemical scents for this boy). But, our hostess, Daphne connected with us wayyyy beyond the smells.

She’s a ritual and sacred dancer - puts on events like “Summerland”, other alternative festivals and doings in the UK. Turns out her partner, Mark, used to live in San Francisco and work with Reclaiming folks. Small world!

We spent the entire evening on into the wee hours connecting and turning over the issues that come up as we try to recreate the entire paradigm of relationship - from feudal/patriarchal to love and connection based. That was just soooo great. Thanks Daphne and Mark.

Now, I’m sitting in Leeds where my daughter attends a conservatory. I’ve had some time to polish the solo guitar pieces that will be on my next album. I know that it’s a long time in the works. I cannot seem to rush this work. It will have to be ready in its own time.

peace,

/brook

I’m off for a month to Europe. I’ll be doing a couple of weekend intensives. I’ll join music, ritual, and the sacred in Frankfurt, co-taught with my friend Celia. And then, I’m off to Amsterdam to teach a Pentacle of Pearl with Suus (details are in my calendar).

Both of these workshops include the intersection between music and community, personal inner work and how that relates to collaboration. I’m very much looking forward to the opportunity to explore this work once again with friends in Europe.

After those visits, I’ll be visiting friends in Germany and then the UK. No more music shows until I get back on May 18th.

If I can, I’ll try to post to this blog as I travel.

I’ve been hard at work in the last month trying to record solo guitar pieces for my next release. The work is finally beginning to gel. It took a very long time to start approaching the recorded sound that I wanted out of my guitars for this album. Up until recentl, there seemed to be something that was unfnished in the work. Either the recording is not as fine as is required or I discover that the composition is not quite as finished as I had hoped (nothing like the glaring truth of a recording)

The piece that I posted as podcast, “Andulasian Mist”, and now titled, “Andulasian Fantasy” seems to be getting there. I performed it at The Nomad Cafe last Friday (the 13th!). And on the break between sets, someone asked when the recording would be available. That’s a good sign (thank you, wonderful listeners). Now, if I can just get it recorded well enough… (I’ll start again after I return, in May)

Spring blessings to you,

/brook

Many apologies to readers for the long delay in postings. For quite a long time, I was unable to log into my blog because of misconfiguration.

Now, I’ll be able to start posting again.

I’m off to Europe for workshops and visits next week. Please see my calendar for details (linked off ofwww.magicbrook.com). I intend to do a few posts from there as I travel.

blessings,

/brook